I’ve announced my resolutions on this blog before, back in [2006](http://vantan.org/archives/2006/01/new_year_resolu.php) and [2008](http://vantan.org/archives/2008/01/new_year_resolu_1.php). Now it’s time for 2010!
I learned at INSEAD that research has shown that if you plan how to carry out your resolution and tell others about it, you’re more likely to follow through with it. So I will announce how I intend to achieve each resolution as well.
**1. Exercise more regularly, and the right way**
This is my next step after having lost several kg over the past year. Exercising regularly means I need to change the way I schedule my time, which currently is mostly about work and burning the midnight oil. I will now sleep earlier and aim to go to the gym at least once a week in the early morning. If it works out, I will do this more often.
Exercising smartly is also important, because from experience, I’ve aggravated old joint injuries which then prevent me from exercising for a while until I recover. So it backfires. So I’ve bought a new pair of running shoes to make sure I’m getting the right support, together with warm-up and cool-down exercises.
What helps is that I’m paying a small fortune every month for club membership which I haven’t been using, so going more regularly makes me feel like I’m getting my money’s worth. The key is getting up early enough and having the energy to exercise, shower and head to work thereafter. Failing which, it will have to be an evening activity.
**2. Be more strategic in life and in work**
My new job requires me to shed all the tactical work I’ve been doing for the past several years. In the big picture of things, doing work that’s very downstream, specialised and operational will make you think in a certain way and that’s not where I want to go. But to do so, I must take a few steps back and think of where the organisation should be headed. Then everything we do must fit into that plan.
This means that work has to be proactive, not reactive; gratification is not immediate nor visible – in fact, many aspects of the work are now intangible. This requires a lot of work because mindsets cannot be changed at once.
This can be applied more broadly to life as well. What do I want to get out of it? What is my purpose on this earth? How do I relate to other people and where things are within my control, how can I improve them?
However, I believe that one requires a certain level of knowledge in a subject (or a certain amount of life experience) before one can think strategically. It doesn’t have to be a lot, but it should be enough to cover all bases so that intuition and creativity can be applied in an appropriate and realistic manner. This may mean getting more relevant exposure, reading up, asking more questions and seeking mentors to provide guidance.
**3. Address the root of bad habits to grow closer to God**
That’s the most accurate way I can phrase it. Despite improving over the years with guidance and prayers from people, I still have habits that I don’t really want to give up. I’m not sure exactly why, but if I trace the cause of each pattern I will probably find out what I’m yearning for.
And, applying what I’ve been reading from Anthony Robbins’ book, I need to detach ‘pleasure’ from bad things, like procrastinating or being overly critical, and associate positive action with it instead. I can start by mapping out every problem, one by one, and writing down a solution per problem.
So that’s my 3 big resolutions – easy to say but they cover a wide area of my life. I hope to